Disposable utensil rest

ABSTRACT

The disposable utensil rest includes a base plate having an upper surface and a lower surface, and a raised peripheral rim formed on the upper surface of the base plate. In use, the head of a cooking utensil may be positioned against the upper surface of the base plate with a handle portion of the cooking utensil being supported on the raised peripheral rim to protect a surface upon which the disposable utensil rest is mounted. The base plate and the raised peripheral rim are formed from a disposable material, allowing the disposable utensil rest to be disposed of after use. A dispenser dispensing a utensil rest from a stack of disposable utensil rests may be provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/842,654, filed Sep. 7, 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to utensils used for cooking and eating,and particularly to a disposable utensil rest for supporting a cookingor eating utensil on a countertop, tabletop, or other surface in orderto keep the surface clean.

2. Description of the Related Art

During cooking, the user often must stir or otherwise manipulate afoodstuff, leaving food particles and other residue, often in liquidform, on the head of a spoon or other cooking utensil. While the user ispreparing other ingredients, or is otherwise manipulating thefoodstuffs, the spoon or other cooking utensil often must be set asideto leave the user's hands free. Laying the cooking utensil directly on akitchen counter, for example, will result in the soiling andcontamination of the kitchen counter by the food particles and/orliquids that remain on the cooking utensil. Further, as the counter maynot be sanitized, such a positioning and support of the utensil mayresult in the unsanitary contamination of the utensil, which may berequired for further manipulation of the food.

Although a user may use a plate or bowl for supporting the utensilduring cooking, typical plates and bowls are generally much larger thanthe cooking utensil, thus wasting counter space, and causing generalinefficiency in the cooking process. Further, the plate and bowl willlater have to be cleaned, thus adding to the time the user must spend inthe kitchen, and wasting other resources, such as water, electricity,soap, etc. In addition, plates and bowls are specifically contoured forreceiving food, not for supporting utensils, which may have elongatedand rounded handles or the like, thus increasing the likelihood that theutensil may slip from the plate or bowl, thus causing the aforementionedsoiling and contamination problems.

Further, during food preparation, a serving utensil may be used duringintermediate stages of the preparation for mixing, slicing or the like,and it may be necessary to set the utensil aside on the countertopduring the final stages of food preparation. Also, some people willprepare a cup of instant coffee, a cup of tea, a cup of cocoa, or thelike, using a spoon to stir the beverage, and set the spoon aside to beused again if another cup is desired. In such cases, it would bedesirable to have a rest or other support on the countertop to avoidstaining the countertop and the necessity for subsequent cleanup.

Thus, a disposable utensil rest solving the aforementioned problems isdesired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disposable utensil rest includes a base plate having an uppersurface and a lower surface, and a raised peripheral rim formed on theupper surface of the base plate. Preferably, the base plate and theraised peripheral rim are formed from plastic or any other suitabledisposable material. The base plate and raised peripheral rim may havesubstantially rectangular contours, or any other suitable shape.

In use, the head of a cooking utensil may be positioned against theupper surface of the base plate with a handle portion of the cookingutensil being supported on the raised peripheral rim to protect asurface upon which the disposable utensil rest is mounted. Theperipheral rim also prevents liquids from spilling over the edge of thebase plate onto the countertop, tabletop, or other surface to beprotected. The base plate and the raised peripheral rim are formed froma disposable material, allowing the disposable utensil rest to be placedin the trash for disposal following usage thereof.

A dispenser suitable for countertop use may be provided for thedisposable utensil rest so that a utensil rest is conveniently at handwhen needed, rather than having to fish one out of bulk packagingbeforehand. The dispenser includes a housing having a plurality ofsidewalls, a lower wall and an open upper end, with the housing definingan open interior region therein. The open interior region is configuredto receive a plurality of the disposable utensil rests.

A plate is slidably mounted within the housing, with the plate having anupper surface and a lower surface. The upper surface of the plate isadapted for supporting a plurality of the disposable utensil rests.Further, the plate is spring-biased, with the spring being positionedbetween the lower surface of the plate and the lower wall of thehousing.

Further, at least one flange is mounted to an upper edge of one of theplurality of sidewalls and extends inwardly therefrom. The spring biasesan uppermost one of the plurality of disposable utensil rests againstthe flange, allowing the user to selectively remove the uppermostdisposable utensil rest from within the housing.

These and other features of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a disposable utensilrest according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view in section of the disposable utensil restaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a disposable utensil rest according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, partially broken away and in section, of adispenser for the disposable utensil rests according to the presentinvention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the present invention is directed towards adisposable utensil rest 10 and a dispenser 24 therefor. As bestillustrated in FIG. 1, the disposable utensil rest 10 protects asurface, such as exemplary kitchen countertop C, from direct contactwith a cooking utensil, such as exemplary spoon 12. It should beunderstood that spoon 12 is shown for exemplary purposes only and thatsupport 10 may be used with any suitable desired cooking or eatingutensil. During cooking, the user often must stir or otherwisemanipulate a foodstuff, leaving food particles and other residue, oftenin liquid form, on the head of spoon 12. Disposable utensil rest 10provides a protective surface for receiving the head of spoon 12 (andsupporting the handle portion of spoon 12, as will be described below),thus preventing the aforementioned food particles and residue fromsoiling the clean kitchen counter C.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the disposable utensil rest 10 includes abase plate having an upper surface 16 and a lower surface 18. A raisedperipheral rim 14 is formed on the upper surface 16 of the base plate.As shown in FIG. 1, the head of spoon 12 rests on the upper surface 16,while the handle portion of spoon 12 is supported by the raised rim 14.Raised rim 14 is formed about the entire periphery of upper surface 16,thus preventing food-related particulates and liquids that fall fromspoon 12 from leaving the upper surface 16 (in the form of spills andthe like) and soiling the countertop C.

Preferably, the base plate and the raised peripheral rim are formed fromplastic or any other suitable disposable material, such as paper orcardboard. The disposable utensil rest 10 may be formed from a plasticmaterial similar to that commonly associated with disposable beveragecontainer lids, for example.

The base plate and raised peripheral rim are shown as having asubstantially rectangular shape in the drawings. It should be understoodthat this is for exemplary purposes only and that the disposable utensilrest 10 may have any suitable shape. Further, the disposable utensilrest may include any desired ornamentation and may have any desireddimensions.

As described above, in use, the lower surface 18 of the disposableutensil rest 10 is positioned on surface C, and the head of a cookingutensil, such as exemplary spoon 12, is positioned against the uppersurface 16 of the base plate, with the handle portion of the cookingutensil 12 being supported on the raised peripheral rim 14. The baseplate and the raised peripheral rim 14 are formed from a disposablematerial, allowing the disposable utensil rest 10 to be disposed ofafter use.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, alternatively, the surface 16 may furtherinclude a ridged or grooved portion 17. Thus, surface 16 may have asubstantially planar contour, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, or mayinclude grooves or ridges 17, as illustrated in FIG. 3. In use, the headof the spoon or other utensil would rest within the ridged portion 17for the collection of liquids and food particulate matter in the troughsof the ridges.

As shown in FIG. 4, a dispenser 24 for the disposable utensil rests 10may be provided. The dispenser 24 includes a housing 26 having aplurality of sidewalls 32, a lower wall 28 and an open upper end, withthe housing 26 defining an open interior region therein. The openinterior region is configured to receive a plurality of the disposableutensil rests 10. In FIG. 4, the housing 26 has a substantiallyrectangular cross-sectional contour for receiving rests 10 similar tothose shown in FIGS. 1-3. It should be understood that housing 26 mayhave any desired shape matching the selected shape of the disposableutensil rests 10.

A plate 20 is slidably mounted within the housing 26 parallel to thelower wall 28. The plate 20 is adapted for supporting a plurality of thedisposable utensil rests 10. Further, at least one spring, such asexemplary helical springs 22, is provided, with the spring beingpositioned between the lower surface of the plate 20 and the lower wall28 of the housing 26. It should be understood that any suitableresilient element may be used for biasing plate 20 upward.

At least one flange 30 (shown in FIG. 4 as a pair of flanges formed onopposed sidewalls 32) is mounted to an upper edge of one of theplurality of sidewalls 32 and extends inwardly therefrom. The spring 22biases the uppermost disposable utensil rest 10 against the flange(s)30, allowing the user to selectively remove the uppermost disposableutensil rest 10 from the stack.

The disposable utensil rest 10 is semi-rigid and sufficiently flexibleto bend or flex for removal from the housing 26 without losing itssubstantially flat shape. Alternatively, flange 30 may be provided witha slidable, resilient or releasable catch for retaining the disposableutensil rests 10 in the housing 26 until needed. Housing 26 may beformed from metal, plastic or any other suitable material. It will beunderstood that dispenser 24 is exemplary only, and may have otherconfigurations, e.g., an opening in one of the sidewalls 32 with alateral bias element so that dispenser 24 may have a top wall to preventdisposable utensil rests 10 from accumulating dust before use.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theembodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims.

1. A disposable utensil rest, comprising: a base plate having aperiphery; and a raised rim extending around the periphery of the baseplate, the base plate and rim being formed from a disposable material.2. The disposable utensil rest as recited in claim 1, wherein said baseplate has a substantially rectangular contour.
 3. The disposable utensilrest as recited in claim 1, wherein said disposable utensil rest isformed from plastic.
 4. The disposable utensil rest as recited in claim1, wherein said base plate has opposed upper and lower surfaces, theraised rim being formed on the upper surface thereof and projectingupwardly therefrom.
 5. The disposable utensil rest as recited in claim4, wherein the upper surface defines a central region therein, thecentral region having a plurality of grooves formed therein.
 6. Thedisposable utensil rest as recited in claim 1, further comprising adispenser having a housing dimensioned and configured for containing aplurality of said base plates in a stack, an opening for dispensing asingle one of said base plates at a time being formed through saidhousing, said dispenser further comprising means for biasing theplurality of stacked base plates against the opening.
 7. The disposableutensil rest as recited in claim 6, wherein said disposable utensil restis formed from a flexible material.
 8. A dispenser for the disposableutensil rest of claim 1, comprising: a housing having a plurality ofsidewalls, a lower wall and an open upper end, the housing defining anopen interior region therein, the open interior region being dimensionedand configured to receive a plurality of the disposable utensil rests; aplate slidably mounted within the housing, the plate being adapted forsupporting the plurality of disposable utensil rests; at least onespring positioned between the plate and the lower wall of the housing;and at least one flange extending from one of the plurality of sidewallsinto the open upper end, the at least one spring biasing the pluralityof disposable utensil rests against the at least one flange, whereby theuser may selectively remove a single one of the plurality of disposableutensil rests at a time from the housing.
 9. A disposable utensil restassembly, comprising: a plurality of disposable utensil rests, each ofthe disposable utensil rests having a base plate and an uprightperipheral rim extending around the base plate, the disposable utensilrests being formed from a disposable material and being adapted forsupporting a freshly-soiled food utensil above a countertop to protectthe countertop from being soiled, the disposable utensil rests beingadapted for disposal after use; and a dispenser having a housingdefining a chamber for storing the plurality of disposable utensil restsand defining a dispenser opening configured to dispense a single one ofthe disposable utensil rests at a time, the dispenser further havingmeans for biasing the plurality of disposable utensil rests towards thedispenser opening.
 10. The disposable utensil rest assembly as recitedin claim 9, wherein each said base plate has a substantially rectangularcontour.
 11. The disposable utensil rest assembly as recited in claim 9,wherein each said disposable utensil rest is formed from plastic. 12.The disposable utensil rest assembly as recited in claim 9, wherein eachsaid base plate has opposed upper and lower surfaces, the uprightperipheral rim associated therewith being formed on the upper surfacethereof and projecting upwardly therefrom.
 13. The disposable utensilrest assembly as recited in claim 12, wherein the upper surface definesa central region therein, the central region having a plurality ofgrooves formed therein.
 14. The disposable utensil rest assembly asrecited in claim 9, wherein each said disposable utensil rest is formedfrom a flexible material.